Harvey Weinstein’s empire has crumbled in every sense of the word, and now another piece of his legacy crashing down is his old office.
The 15,000-square-foot building, located on Hudson Street in Manhattan, is being demolished by Barbara Kavovit, a castmate of The Real Housewives of New York City, along with her team.
Barbara’s construction firm Evergreen was hired by Olshan Properties to do a full remodeling of the space, which was recently occupied by the disgraced movie producer.
Kavovit speaks on the project
The RHONY castmate tells The Hollywood Reporter that the project is personal to her.
“This is so personal, emotional and passionate for me because I feel the pain of those women,” Kavovit said. “I’ve had a lot of Harveys in my life.”
Barbara also informed THR that the massive undertaking would require 16 weeks to demolish and rebuild. She also spoke about snagging the enviable contract as a female in a male-dominated field.
She went through several interviews before getting the job, but being female in this instance may have given her an edge!
The head of Olshan Properties, the company that owns the building, is a woman, and she gave Kavovit the opportunity to prove herself.
A welcome change from the roadblocks she’s had to face, despite her many years in the industry.
“I’m part of an industry that has been 98 percent male and very unwelcoming to women. I’ve met a lot of adversity, a lot of door slamming and a lot of propositioning,” Kavovit said. “I’ve been fighting for 25 years to stake my claim. I had to go out with people I had no interest in. I repeatedly had to sit across from men I wouldn’t give the time of day to in order to get work. Many of them just lead me on because they wanted to date me.”
The bold and outspoken NY city housewife was indeed able to beat out four other firms and demonstrate that she was the best woman for the job, explaining, “I had to go through four interviews.”
“I was afforded this opportunity to show that I am an expert,” Kavovit said. “I can do what everyone else does, and I believe I do it better. Even though drawings were laid out, I was not shy about immediately telling them that I could save two weeks and $50,000.”
Barbara speaks on Harvey Weinstein
The plan for the building is to remove all traces of Harvey Weinstein, recently sentenced to 23 years in prison for rape and criminal sexual assault.
On that note, the Evergreen CEO/Founder sums it up nicely saying, “Demolition is crucial for starting over, and we are taking this down to the bones. When I walk in here, I can feel the emotional ghosts.
“There were such brave women who stood up in that courtroom and faced Harvey. As we rip out the studs and use the sledgehammers to tear down the walls, I feel like I am doing it for them.”